Alexander Nasmyth (1758–1840)

• Was a Scottish portrait and landscape painter.
• Nasmyth was born in Edinburgh.
• He studied at the Royal High School and the Trustees' Academy and was apprenticed to a coachbuilder.
• Aged sixteen, he was taken to London by portrait painter Allan Ramsay where he worked on subordinate parts of Ramsay's works.
• Nasmyth returned to Edinburgh in 1778, where he worked as a portrait painter.
• Offered a loan by Patrick Miller of Dalswinton, Nasmyth left in 1782 for Italy, where he remained two years furthering his studies.
• Nasmyth returned to Scotland where for the next few years he continued his career as a portraitist.
• In 1792 he completely abandoned the genre, turning instead to landscape painting.
• He also began painting scenery for theatres, an activity he continued for the next thirty years, and in 1796 painted a panorama.
• The displayed paintin is a crop from: Andrew Geddes, Alexander Nasmyth, 1810.
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